China released a statement claiming to have found a sample of chicken wings to be corona positive. The sample was collected from a batch of frozen chicken, imported from Brazil to the Chinese city of Shenzhen. China also stated that the test results of people who might have come in contact with the chicken wings have so far come out negative.
Doctors and health experts have repeatedly said that the novel coronavirus is not likely to be transmitted by food. At a briefing in Geneva, WHO head of emergencies programme, Mike Ryan said, “People should not fear food, or food packaging or processing or delivery of food”. He further added, “There is no evidence that food or the food chain is participating in the transmission of this virus. And people should feel comfortable and safe”.
WHO epidemiologist, Maria Van Kerkhove said that China had conducted tests on hundreds of thousands of packages and ‘found very, very few, less than 10 testing positive for the virus.’ However, the claims made by China have sparked fears in the minds of people. The poultry industry, which was finally recovering, after being hard hit due to the coronavirus pandemic, finds itself in a vulnerable position once again.
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In an interview with NewsMobile, Chairman of Egg Commission, Suresh Chitturi said, “I Don’t think China’s statement will cause much harm to the industry. They’ve been making noise regarding the imports from various countries. They’re just trying to convince their people to consume local products.”
On being asked about their plans if China’s claims lead to a crisis in the poultry industry, Chitturi said, “We need to have a campaign ready in that case. We will educate people about the virus and spread awareness regarding the consumption of poultry products during the pandemic”
The Indian Government also came out in support of the poultry industry on social media. They tweeted a post with the caption, “Claims being made that Coronavirus has been found in broiler chicken is FAKE! Don’t fall prey to misinformation. Stay updated with the authentic information.”
Claims being made that Coronavirus has been found in broiler chicken is FAKE! Don’t fall prey to misinformation. Stay updated with the authentic information. #IndiaFightsCorona #MyGovFactCheck @PIB_India @PMOIndia @MIB_India pic.twitter.com/cwNSw0Lj2a
— MyGovIndia (@mygovindia) August 13, 2020
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